ReAwakening
by Ormandria
Summary: Palin and his brothers are going home, but their plans change when they get mixed up with a black mage intent on using Palin to bring Raistlin back to life. WARNING: This Story is an AU Story!
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer & Author's Note:** I do not own Dragonlance, Krynn or any of the characters therein that are in this fanfic and also appear in the books. If I did then this would obviously have made it into one of those many books by now. This is AU only **after** Palin and his brothers get kidnapped by Reorx and his band of sailing tinker-gnomes. Before (and during) that escapade everything remains as in the books._

_**Ormandria

* * *

**_

Sori closed her eyes and shuddered violently under the dark of night.

'_Breathe dammit!'_ she reminded herself mentally. _'Just breathe.' _She had to make it out of this alive. If she didn't then more people would die. She had seen it in her crystal ball earlier that week. In fact she had spent the last four days traveling just to get to Palanthus and, just two days out from it, this happens. Her quest hadn't even fully begun and already it was nearing its end.

She opened her eyes slightly to look around. The man who had been following her was no where to be seen. An inaudible sigh escaped her lips. Pushing herself away from the wall, Sori turned to leave the small alley and head to the local tavern for a good nights sleep. It might very well be the last good night's sleep she got in a long time.

Damn those mages! Didn't they know what they were fooling with? Even Sori, a mere girl of twenty, wasn't stupid enough to mess with the forces they were going to call up in that damnable tower of theirs.

"Going somewhere, witch?" a sinister voice called out to her from the shadows. Sori's heart caught in her throat.

"Leave me be Agulos. Please I beg you."

"Sorry luv, but no can do. Boss said I was to bring you back."

"I can't go back yet. I have to stop them. They don't know what they're doing."

"I think it's the other way around luv. Boss is very upset that you went and left 'em like you did."

Sori reeled on the large man, her eyes blazing with self-righteous fire. "I'll give him his fortune when I return. This is a matter of life and death!"

"So is this," the tall man shrugged. "After all, boss never said anything 'bout bringing you back alive."

"Wha…." The dagger slipped in under her ribcage pouring hot blood down her form before she could finish her question.

"Nope. He just said to bring ya back," Agulos smiled in the dark as Sori's lifeless body fell to the ground in front of him. "And I always do what the boss says."

* * *

At the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayerth Forest the heads of the conclave planned very carefully. They went over all details with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that their plan was perfect. They would only have one shot at this and they had to make it count. If all went well then in three days time, in the city of Palanthus, Palin Majere would become a full-blooded Mage. Whether his father liked it, or not.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Short prologue, I know. But it suits the purpose for this story…._

_Wahahahahaha -Evil Laugh ;-) Please R&R_


	2. Chapter 1

The three brothers stepped lively into the inn. It had been a very long and extremely interesting summer, and they wanted to forget the majority of it. Because of everything that had happened, they had missed the chance for Tanin and Sturm to enter the knighthood this summer and would have to wait another year before they could make another go of it. Still though, at this point in time, they were each just happy to be alive and away from anything even remotely associated with tinker gnomes and crazy dwarves.

They went to an open table and sat down. It was still warm and sunny outside and the three had decided to take their time in returning home so that they could relax.

Lord Gunthar and his wife had been kind enough to give the brothers more then enough money to make it home. He had felt a touch guilty about the fact that it would be another year before the two elders would be knighted, and he also felt a small congratulatory gift was in order to celebrate their first quest. A quest that, the brothers had explained, consisted of a mysterious young maiden, a dark knight and a curse. It had been better then the real story, or so they thought. At least it wasn't nearly as embarrassing, and the fact that the Lord and Lady Gunthar accepted it so readily, only left slight pangs of guilt on their consciences.

"So what do you think?" asked Tanin of his two younger brothers. "Should we go ahead and stick around for a few days before moving out?"

"I don't see why not," replied Palin. "It's a nice enough village and I think I saw a magic merchant back a few blocks, whose wares I'd like to check out. Besides, at least this inn is better then the last one we stayed in." He glanced around at the relatively clean tavern and its patrons. Only a few other tables were currently occupied, while two barmaids made the rounds and another stood talking casually with the barkeep.

"I'd like to check out her wares, if you know what I mean," laughed Sturm as he eyed one of the voluptuous barmaids.

"Her and just about every other barmaid we come across," commented Tanin.

Palin merely shook his head in resignation. He was use to his brother's behavior, but that didn't mean he had to necessarily approve of it. He was the youngest of the three, but there were times when he felt as though he was the most mature. Still, he had to admit that he loved his brothers dearly, bad behavior and all.

The barmaid in question came to take their order and Palin immediately ordered a light elven wine, while his brothers ordered a more sturdy ale. Palin took note that this time neither of the others mocked his choice of drink.

Considering everything they had been through recently, he doubted that they would bring it up again for a very long time. He in turn would stop pointing out that their father would be highly upset to hear that they were drinking.

It was a silent bond, much like the more verbal one they had made a week earlier to never discuss what had happened to them over the past month, that would carry them all for many years.

Sturm started his usual flirtation with the barmaid, until she was sitting on his lap and cooing over him. Tanin laughed at the display while Palin tried in vain to push himself away from the scene without actually leaving the table.

After a few minutes of continued flirtation, the barmaid, whose name turned out to be Sally, hopped away to get their drinks.

"Definitely going to be a fun few days," Sturm winked.

"Now don't go spending all your coin on one barmaid," Tanin chastised. "There are a few other taverns we need to check out first. And now that we actually have some coin, we can do just that. What do you say Palin? Up to checking out some other taverns while we're here?"

"I think I'll pass, thanks," Palin looked back at his brothers.

"I think he's already checking out what he wants to check out," Sturm nudged Tanin in the stomach with his elbow, nodding toward a young woman who had just entered the tavern.

"Oh, I see. Well never mind then little brother. You go ahead and keep ogling the ladies yourself and we'll just sit back and enjoy the show," Tanin smirked.

Palin blushed deeply at the teasing, but decided to ignore it. It hadn't been looks that had brought this woman to his attention, though she was indeed beautiful. More to the point, it was a look. She had a worn and weary look on her face, while maintaining a certain degree of cynicism about life. She had shoulder-length black hair that was swept back, away from her face with a simple silver comb. She removed the thin, blue cloak that she wore as she sat down at a table near the empty fireplace, her back to the wall.

She was at least as tall as he, and her slim figure showed the efforts of many long days of travel. For the life of him, Palin could not seem to take his eyes off of her. There was just something inherently sad about her.

Palin shook his head and forced his attention back to his brothers, who were now both flirting with Sally and another barmaid that had wandered over. Sighing heavily, he stared at his drink, taking occasional glances toward the woman at the other table.

Looking around the tavern, he noted that he wasn't the only one to take an interest in the pretty girl. A rather large man, who was seated at another table with a couple of equally large friends, was pointing and leering at her. The girl either did not notice any of this extra attention, or simply chose to ignore it as she concentrated fully on the bowl of stew and mug of ale that had been placed before her.

The large man at the other table seemed to decide that this lack of notice was not acceptable as he stood up and puffed his chest out. He gave Palin the impression of a giant, ugly rooster trying to preen itself. He was a greasy-looking man. His clothes were disheveled and he gave off a stink of ale as he crossed the room, causing what few patrons there were to mutter and hold their breaths. Even Tanin and Sturm were put off by the man's great oafishness.

"Hello there lass," he spat in a loud, slurring voice as he leaned into her table. "Mind if I join you?"

Everyone in the tavern had stopped whatever conversations they were having, just to watch the scene unfold. Each one having their own ideas as to how it might end. Palin thought it spoke highly of the lack of entertainment in the town, if they were this interested in a possible bar fight.

"Go away," the young woman said, without taking her eyes off the food in front of her.

" Now, thash no way to talk to someone who only wants to get to know you better." He slid into a chair next to her and attempted to put his arm around her shoulders. She wiggled out from his grasp and slid her chair away from him.

"Well, I don't wish to get to know you better, so please leave," she repeated, her voice growing stressed.

Palin glanced over at his brothers. Gone were the easygoing smiles and relaxed demeanors. Instead, both sat straight in their chairs, eyes narrowed slightly and hands casually laid upon their swords.

'_Good,'_ thought Palin. They had noticed and were thinking the same thing he was. He let his gaze go over the drunken man's two friends and was sickened to see them laughing at the woman's obvious discomfort.

"Come on," he wrapped his arm more firmly around her shoulders this time and pulled her in close. The three Majere brothers pushed themselves away from their table, making it easier for them to stand if necessary.

"Sturm," Tanin whispered in a low voice. "Watch out for the other oafs at that table. If they start to interfere, then take them out. Palin, you stand to the back and try to stay out of the way."

"I can handle them." Palin felt the all to familiar anger at being treated as a fragile child build up inside.

Tanin looked over at his little brother, his face fixed in the same look he got whenever he went into Big Brother the Leader mode. The urge to pull rank though quickly dissipated at the rebellious look on Palin's own face, causing Tanin to make a shift in his approach.

"I know you can Little Brother," he sighed. "But I really don't think that we should be using magic in what is tantamount to a barroom brawl. And last time I checked, you weren't exactly in the type of shape to partake in one of those. Now if things get overly out of hand, then we'll talk."

Realizing that his brother made a good point, Palin nodded, and prepared himself to sit back and watch.

"OW!"

Tanin and Palin turned back to the situation at hand just in time to see that the large man was standing up, covered in stew, with an angry look on his face. The woman, who was looking equally put out by this point, gave her bowl a final shake before placing it back on the table and feigning a look of total innocence.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Did I do that? My bowl must have slipped."

"You did that on purpose," growled the man, grabbing her arm and forcing her up. "And you're gonna pay!"

"Let go of me," she replied, her mouth twisted into a snarl.

"Make me," her attacker laughed.

A dagger appeared in the large man's free hand, its tip pointed directly at the woman's throat. Palin threw himself back against the wall as Tanin and Sturm took it as their cue and drew their swords.

Palin eyed the man's companions, who apparently had come to the conclusion that this wasn't necessarily much fun anymore as they saw the two more seasoned warriors take up fighting stances.

"Let her go," Tanin warned, his sword mere inches from the man's neck.

"Are you kidding?" growled the man, suddenly appearing more sober then he was moments before. "Did you see what this little wench did to me?" He shook her as if to make a point. She in turn looked more disgusted and defiant then scared. Though neither mattered as Tanin took another dangerous step forward, his carefully controlled temper, reaching just below the boiling point.

Tanin, having been sober longer then the man he faced, and better trained as well, moved much more quickly then the large man could, and managed to knock the dagger from his hand with a swift flick of his sword.

The man turned on Tanin, ready to lunge, when the girl pounced up onto her feet and barreled into her attacker first.

Tanin stepped back as he watched the woman pin the large man to a pillar in the middle of the room, his arm caught and twisted behind his back.

Her face still contorted in rage, Palin saw her whisper something into the man's ear, causing him to go white, before she let go of him. He rolled his back to the pillar and stared at her in horror.

"Leave," she said, her whole body shaking. "Now."

The man looked at Tanin, who took another step toward him, his sword raise and ready. Realizing that he was stuck, he turned to flee. Before he made it out of the door however, his trousers slipped and fell down past his knees, exposing his fleeing bum to the rest of the tavern.

Most of the patrons took this opportunity to laugh and get back to their own discussions, while the man's friends took it upon themselves to go after him. Even Sturm and Tanin relaxed enough to laugh at the man's misfortune. Palin, however, was more concerned with the woman, and the hand gestures he alone had seen her make before the man's trousers had gone down.

The woman, casting only a passing glance at Palin, walked up to the barkeep, placed some coins on the counter and retreated upstairs.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Sturm exclaimed as he and Tanin wrapped their arms around Palin and led him back to the table.

"Are you okay Palin?" Tanin asked in a concerned voice.

Palin looked over at the now empty table, where a thin blue cloak lay abandoned.

"She forgot her cloak," he said quickly. "I'm going to go return it to her." Grabbing the cloak, he asked the barkeep which room she was in and proceeded to head upstairs.

Tanin watched his younger brother go. He knew his brother well enough to know that there was something more going on, though he also knew that stopping Palin, or getting a straight answer out of him before he was ready to give it was nearly impossible. So instead he sat back down with Sturm, who was still laughing hysterically, and waited for the young mage to return.

* * *

Kendrian stalked into her room, slamming the door behind her. She had been in a particularly foul mood all day and the incident downstairs had just served to make it all worse. It took all the strength she could muster to keep herself from punching a hole in the wall. Instead she sat down one of the cots in the room and tried to steady her breathing.

After a few moments of forced relaxation, she made a slight move of her hand and the water basin that had been sitting on a pedestal in the corner lifted itself into the air and drifted over to her. Kendrian reached in and scooped some cold water out to splash on her face. Normally she would not be so lax in using her abilities, but she was tired, grumpy and right now she simply didn't care. In fact a part of her almost wished that someone would barge in and see her. Maybe they would be so kind as to burn her at the stake or hang her from a tree. At least in death she would be spared the misery that she had dealt with in life.

Shaking her head, the young woman got a hold of herself. It wasn't like her to feel sorry for herself. Besides, there was more to think about then just how miserable she might be.

A knock on the door broke her out of her reverie. She quickly waved the basin back to its proper place.

"Just a moment," she said, standing up and walking over to grab a small towel and dry her face. When she had finished that she walked to the door and opened it very slowly. On the other side was the white mage from downstairs, though his companions where nowhere near.

"Yes?" Kendrian asked, her defenses raised.

"You left this downstairs," the mage replied, holding up Kendrian's cloak.

"Oh, thank you." Kendrian reached for the cloak as she stepped into the hallway. "And I suppose I should thank your companions for what they did downstairs as well." She fingered her cloak, not wanting to make eye contact, but unsure as to why. There was something about this mage that unnerved her a bit.

"It's no problem. I just... My brothers and I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"Brother's?" Kendrian asked. The mage nodded.

"Tanin and Sturm. My name is Palin, by the way. Palin Majere." Palin held his hand out to shake.

Kendrian looked up at him, her eyes once again catching his briefly. She repressed a shudder. There was intelligence in those eyes, almost too much intelligence. She felt like she was exposing her soul to him. She would definitely have to keep her guard up around him.

"Kendrian. Kendrian Wilfyr," she nodded, ignoring his outstretched hands. "Come in," she offered as she turned back to set the cloak on the bed.

Palin entered slowly, taking the room in as he did so. It was very similar to the rooms that his parent's inn offered, with two cots and a small water basin and pitcher on a pedestal in the far corner. A window stood open, letting a cool breeze waft in.

"So are you?" Palin repeated. "Okay, I mean?"

"Yes, I think so." Kendrian turned back to Palin and smiled. "It gets rough traveling alone, so I've gotten rather use to defended myself. But it's nice to know that there are still heroes out in the world, willing to help a woman defend her honor."

"So where are you traveling to, if I may ask?"

"I'm heading south. I've got some family there that I need to get back to."

Palin studied Kendrian for a moment and then smiled broadly. "Well you're in luck. It just so happens that my brothers and I are headed that way as well. Perhaps you would allow us to join you?"

"Well I was planning on leaving in the morning," she explained hesitantly.

"That's not a problem," replied Palin. "If it's all right with you of course..."

Kendrian smiled. "Yes it is. And again, I thank you and your brothers very much. It will be nice to have some traveling companions for a change."

"Then it's all set." Palin stood and walked to the door. "We'll see you tomorrow morning then. Bright and early." Kendrian nodded. Her smile faded after the door finished closing. She stood in the silence of her room for a moment before the pedestal started shaking violently.

"Stop it!" she snapped at the angry ghost that now hovered in the air behind her. Her voice was filled with bitterness as she spoke to it. "I never said I would help you."

The ghost that had been Sori Gadryel when she had been alive simply glared at the woman before her, not saying a single word.

* * *

Palin walked back to the table where his brothers sat, sipping their ale.

"Well?" asked Tanin. "Did you give her back her cloak?"

"Yes," replied Palin.

"And?" pressed Sturm. "How did it go?" He was positive that something had happened since it had taken Palin so long to return. He just wasn't sure what that something was. He'd be damned though, if he didn't at least try to coax it out of his younger brother.

It didn't surprise Palin in the least that his brother had once again failed to notice that something that might actually be important was going on around him. He was positive that a raging volcano could go off right next to Sturm, and unless the person warning him had large breasts, the whole thing would go completely over his head.

Though a quick look at Tanin confirmed that the importance of this whole situation was not lost on the eldest of the three.

"It went fine," Palin remarked casually. "She's headed south tomorrow morning. I told her that we'd go along with her. To keep her company."

Sturm spit out the ale he'd been sipping. "Tomorrow?" he cried incredulously. "I thought we were planning on sticking around for a few days. See the sights, have some fun, that sort of thing."

Tanin held his hand up to stop Sturm's rant. He looked at Palin very carefully before nodding.

"All right. We'll leave tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

Sturm opened his mouth to protest, but Tanin cut him off.

"She's a woman traveling alone and she's already been attacked once. It won't hurt any of us to tag along with her for a while."

"Fine," replied Sturm, his mood soared by the change of plans. "But I'm leaving the babysitting to younger brother then!"

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Tanin responded. "Palin?"

Palin merely nodded assent. He had no problem 'babysitting' Kendrian. If anything it would give him the opportunity to keep a very close eye on her, because at this moment in time there were only three things he was sure of. One was that Kendrian had access to some very powerful magic. The second was that she wasn't a mage. And the third was that the combination of the two made Kendrian Wilfyr a person of great interest to him.


	3. Chapter 2

Morning came, and with it a whole new urge to throw something fairly heavy at the wall. Kendrian just could not understand how it was that she continually found herself in such difficult straights. Downstairs sat three men that were going to escort her south, and one of them was a mage. She hated mages. They were nothing but trouble as far as she was concerned.

Admittedly, the one downstairs, Palin, did not seem all that bad. At least, not once you got past the fact that he was the nephew of the most well-known black-robed archmage in history. Kendrian's stomach turned at the thought. She honestly didn't know which was worse, dark mages with their lust for power and world domination, or white-robbed mages (of whom she often found herself referring to as light mages) with their hypocrisy's and holier-than-thou platitudes.

Either way, with this one traveling with her, she was going to have to watch herself. The last thing she wanted was to cause yet another ruckus and have him hunting her down. She looked down at her travel bags and sighed. Watching herself meant no magic for awhile and magic had been part of what she had been living off of for the last nine months.

Stuffing her spell components and anything that might mark attention to the bottom of the sack, Kendrian draped her cloak over it. She then hefted it over her shoulder and stared at the door in dread. Then shaking her head, she looked up at the ceiling.

"You're just loving this, aren't you?" she asked no one in particular, her voice dripping with annoyance. She looked back at the door. Grasping the knob, the young woman took a deep breath.

"Mages," she sighed under her breath regretfully. "If it were up to me, I'd kill the lot of them." With that, Kendrian pasted her brightest smile and walked out of the door, ready for almost anything.

Unfortunately, almost anything did not include Palin being gone and having to face his brothers alone.

* * *

"You should pay more attention," Tanin looked at Sturm. "You didn't see the expression on his face yesterday." 

"I did see it," Sturm retorted casually. "I just see no reason to push the matter. He'll tell us what's going on when he wants to. He's just like mother in that regard, stubborn as a mule and just as temperamental."

"Besides," he continued. "If it does turn out to be something serious, he'll tell us. For now, I think it's just better to drop it. There is such a thing as being too brotherly. Who knows how long this little side-trip of his will take. I have no inclination to spend the next several weeks traveling with you two if all you're going to do is argue and sulk. Don't give me that look Tanin. You know as well as I do that he'll get angry the moment you start to pull rank, and you'll get angry the minute he bites back and then it's just like that trip to Wayerth. Both of you will end up sulking to no end and I'm the one who always has to suffer for it."

"Fine," the older brother conceded. "I'll keep my mouth shut. But if this does turn into something more then just a babysitting trip …."

"Then you chew his head off if he still doesn't tell us what's going on and I will be more then happy to help you." Sturm lifted his cup to his lips and took a long sip. Looking up he saw the woman from the day before make her way down the steps toward them. He nudged his brother, who nodded, and they both stood up as she got to the table.

"Hello," Sturm said with a smile, holding out his hand for hers. His intent had been to show his manners off and kiss the back of it, as a knight would, but instead she turned it into a more normal handshake. And a quick on at that. Sturm recovered fairly quickly though and continued on with his introduction. "My name is Sturm and this is my brother Tanin."

"A pleasure," Tanin nodded and waved his hand over one of the empty chairs at the table. "Please, have a seat… uh?"

"Kendrian. And thank you." Kendrian took the pro-offered seat and looked around curiously. She kept her bag on her lap, protectively. "I thought that Palin was going to be here as well."

"Palin went to pick up some items from a local shop. He said he'd be back soon though," Tanin responded as he and Sturm sat back down.

"Oh."

"Don't worry," Sturm added. "He's like that sometimes, but all in all he is a very reliable person."

"Yes," Kendrian smiled wanely as she glanced toward the door. "I'm sure he is."

"Palin tells us you're headed south," Tanin remarked.

"Yes. I have family down there that I need to return to." Her voice was quiet as she avoided eye contact with the brothers.

"Oh, and what family is that?" Sturm asked.

"Just family," she reiterated, suddenly more interested in her hands then in the brothers. Sturm looked at Tanin in confusion. Tanin shook his head lightly and Sturm knew he was telling him to drop the subject. For whatever reason, it seemed that it made Kendrian extremely uncomfortable talking about it.

"Well," Sturm said in a more upbeat voice, so as to change the mood. "It is a good time of year to travel. Not many storms now and I heard that the Knights on the road to the south have cleared most of the bandits out."

"For now at least," Tanin laughed ruefully.

"And with my luck that will last until I get there," Kendrian chuckled sardonically, though she was definitely grateful for the change of subject.

"Well even if it doesn't last long, you have nothing to worry about. Consider us your personal bodyguards," Sturm puffed out his chest for show.

"Thank you," she smiled.

Tanin caught the briefest glimpse of worry in her eyes though. Looking back at the door, he sighed heavily. "Palin should have been back by now."

"I'm sure he will be. He's probably just picking up some spell components or something. He did use quite a bit of his up during the last month." Tanin glanced at Sturm as a shiver went up the spines of both brothers. Though they refused to openly talk about the "incident" that had forced their younger brother to use or lose most of his spell components, that didn't erase the horrible memories from their minds.

"Are you alright?" Kendrian asked the two. The saw the concerned expression on her face and both broke out into broad, though pasted, grins.

"We're fine," Tanin commented.

"And here is the prodigal brother now," Sturm elbowed Tanin to catch his attention. Tanin turned back toward the door, through which the youngest Majere brother had just walked. He started to stand up, prepared to lash out at Palin for worrying him, when Sturm actively, and very loudly cleared his throat.

"Alright," Tanin whispered through gritted teeth, as he sat back down.

"Palin," Kendrian nodded as the mage stepped up to the table. Though Tanin was quick to note that her voice was no longer as relaxed as it had been a moment ago.

"You made it. Good," he smiled. "I hope my brother's are treating you well?"

"Only as well as she'll let us," Sturm smirked. Palin glared at him and opened his mouth to respond, but Tanin spoke first.

"So what took you so long, Little Brother?"

"I was restocking my spell components. Some of them are a little hard to get."

Kendrian instinctively clutched the bag on her lap a little tighter.

"See?" grinned Sturm. "I told you he was fine."

"Well our horses are ready to go," Tanin stated, before he turned to Kendrian. "All we need to do is get your horse ready and we can leave."

"Well then," Kendrian laughed nervously. "That might be a bit of a problem."

"Oh, and why is that?" The eldest brother asked.

"Because…. I don't have a horse."

* * *

Kendrian shifted uncomfortably in her place on the horse. Currently she was riding with Palin. Later she would be switched to ridewithSturm and then later Tanin. They had decided this when they thought they were out of earshot of her. 

"You're the one that wanted to travel with her, therefore she's your responsibility," Tanin had insisted.

"Yes, but you can't expect me to ride the whole way with her on my horse!" Palin rebutted.

"Yes, I can and I do!"

"Stop it, you two! She's going to hear you!" Tanin had whispered, not realizing that he, himself was still loud enough to carry across the empty room.

"Well, what would_ you_ have us do?" Tanin sneered.

"I don't know. How about we take turns? That way we can give each horse a chance to rest in between." Sturm looked at both of his brothers, who both mulled over the idea.

"Actually," Tanin shrugged. "That's not a bad idea. Which is surprising in and off itself, coming from you." Palin chuckled in agreement as Sturm, ever true to form, pointedly ignored the insult and looked at his younger brother.

"All right," he conceded. "So who gets to carry her first?"

Tanin merely smiled at his younger brother. "Don't you know?" he asked.

So here she was, saddledin front ofPalin, whom she was positive was no more happy about it then she was. At least, she hoped that was the case. Kendrian hated to think that she had to be the only miserable one on this trip.

She had actually half-hoped that once they discovered that she had no horse, they would leave off and let her travel alone. Apparently though, she had either made just enough of an impression on the two warriors for them to actually want to travel with her, or Palin was already suspicious enough of her to want to keep an eye on her.

The third would be that they genuinely were concerned for her safety, but Kendrian was far too cynical to ever believe that. She found herself, not for the first time, mentally cursing herself for the small bit of magic she'd preformed on the imbecile that had attacked her. One of these days she was really going to have to learn to control her temper. It had a way of getting her into too much trouble.

Still, maybe this was for the best. If she was wrong about the mage, and he was really as nice as he pretended to be, then being with a mage was the best way to keep other mages off of her back, especially with his being a white-robed mage.

"_You must kill him…,"_ came a familiar voice near her ear.

Kendrian stiffened, making an effort to ignore the voice, and the ghost that now hovered nearby. She was not the only to notice the presence of the ghost though, as the horse she and Palin rode astride became agitated and more difficult to control.

"Palin, are you okay?" Sturm asked as he looked back.

"Something's … wrong with the horse," Palin replied. He tightened his grip on the reins, trying to bring the horse back undre control. Kendrian moved slightly to allow him a better grip, but it did no good. With the ghost hovering over it, the horse was not to be calmed down.

"Tanin!" Sturm called to the elder Majere, who was riding a bit ahead, to keep his eye out for bandits and draconions. Tanin stopped and turned, saw Palin struggling with his horse and kicked his horse into a gallop back to the group.

"_You have to do this. You said you would kill them if it were up to you. So do it! You **have** to kill him …."_ The ghost repeated angrily.

"Stop it!" Kendrian, her hands twisted into the horses mane, yelled suddenly, irritated at Sora's pestering.

Sora straightened up, her face screwed up in fury, and flew away. As soon as she was gone the horse calmed down.

Sturm and Palin both looked at her in amazement. Even Tanin was visibly impressed as he brought his own horse to a halt next to them.

"That's quite way with horses you have," Tanin exclaimed.

"What?" Kendrian looked up in surprise. She saw him looking at the horse and finally realized that they thought she had been yelling at the horse. "Oh, yes," she muttered, patting the animal absent-mindedly, her face tilted down to the ground in thought. "Thank you..."

* * *

Palin studied Kendrian for a long moment. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew that she hadn't been yelling at the horse. Something else had been there before. Something that had been unnatural. It hadn't felt menacing per say, but it was definitely something that he wouldn't want to run into without having a few good offensive spells at the ready. 

"Let's get going then," Tanin said a little uneasily.

Palin nodded and spurred his horse back into a steady gait. Kendrian's body slumped down in front of Palin, her hair falling into her face, and for the tiniest of moments, he thought he saw the glimmer of a tear.


	4. Chapter 3

_**A/N:**Thank you everyone for the reviews. Sorry it took so long to update this story. I don't like chopping out chapters just to fill or finish a story. It takes away from a story. And this story is no exception. Better to take one's time and do it right than to rush through, right? LOL_

_Anyway, here is the next chapter. I hope you like. As always, Reviews are not only welcomed, but MUCH incouraged!_

_**Ormandria

* * *

**_

"Time to change, Little Brother," Sturm smiled as he slowed his horse down to match pace with Palin's.

Palin nodded and brought his steed to a halt. Kendrian shifted uncomfortably as Palin dismounted and unbuckled his staff so that Sturm could help the woman down without interference. Once that was done, the middle brother helped her ease up onto his own horse.

Kendrian took note that once she was safely shouldered onto a different mount, Palin readjusted his staff so that it lay in front of him. He ran his fingers lovingly over the fine-grain wood, as though he stroked a lover that had been long-missed. Kendrian had to stop herself from laughing aloud at such a ridiculous sight. She knew that mages loved their staves, but Palin appeared to take that to a level beyond all the rest.

It wasn't so much self-control that stopped her laughing, but the weight she felt around her neck that did it. Gently, without thought, Kendrian reached up and touch the medallion that hung around her neck, feeling the harden ridges of its design through the soft fabric of her tunic.

It meant more than the world to her and she was not quite sure what she would do without it. True, it did have some magical properties to it. With the amount of power that had been poured into it over the years, it was bound to. Though it was not the same type of magic that mages used. It was a different, deeper, more personal magic. Still, that had nothing to do with the reason it met so much to her. It had been the last gift to her by one of the very few people Kendrian had ever allowed to get close to her.

Wasn't that medallion to her what Palin's staff was to him? She remembered hearing tales of the Great Arch-mage, Raistlin Majere, and his Staff of Magi. Sori had told her that Palin was the arch-mage's nephew (Kendrian looked around, half-expecting the ghost to appear at that thought, and was quite relieved when no such appearance took place). It only made sense then, that with his staff fitting the description of the staff in the stories she had heard about Raistlin, that it was indeed one and the same.

Perhaps that was why the young mage took more care with it than even normal mages did. With a few muttered words and some small, yet convoluted hand movements Palin insured that his staff was secure and would not fall from its position until he wanted it to. At least that was what Kendrian assumed. Palin's head had been slightly turned away and he was not close enough for her to actually hear his words, so she wasn't able to make out what he was saying, and the straps he was using to secure his staff had hidden most of the hand movements from her view.

Palin glanced up at her, a strange look in his eyes that made her feel as though he could see right through her and into her heart and mind. Kendrian barely managed to keep her composure as she lowered her hand, nodding at him in what she hoped was a casual manner, and looked away.

'_Damn,'_ she thought to herself. She got the distinct impression that he trusted her about as much as she trusted him and that was not good at all. Especially not since she was stuck traveling with him. This was wrong. Why did she have to cross his path? Her life would be so much easier if she could just erase the last two days from existence and start over again. Unfortunately, no one, except maybe the gods themselves, had _that _kind of power. _Damn him. Damn them all._

Kendrian _really_ hated mages.

* * *

Palin allowed himself a slight smile of satisfaction, though grim as it was. Something had happened a few hours back, when Kendrian had yelled at the horse, though he had no idea what that something was. Since then, he had waited patiently for some moment in time when he could cast a spell undetected. It wasn't a large spell. Just a minor one that would allow him to tell what, if anything, around him was actually magic.

When it came time to switch Kendrian from his horse to Sturm's, that chance provided itself. Palin had been slightly surprised with the results. He had expected to see the magical aura that emanated from her bag, and the one that came from under her tunic, near her neck, had not surprised him either. It was not necessarily difficult to find magical pendants or necklaces, though admittedly the aura surrounding that particular item was much stronger than he would normally expect.

No. What surprised him was that normally there was a slight magical aura around the hands of magic users and priests. It came from their constant use of magical spell components and other magical items, though the auras changed in color and thickness, depending on what type of magic was used (divine or arcane), how often said magic was used and how skilled the user was.

Kendrian, as Palin suspected, had such an aura around her hands. Only slightly thicker than his own, it proved that she was definitely adept at casting spells and had been so for quite some time. It also proved that she was at a level where, if she had been studying under a mage, she would have already been given the test at the Tower of High Sorcery or she would have been ordered to stop using magic all together, or risk the High Council's wrath.

_If _she had been studying under a mage, that is.

It was that thought that bothered Palin the most. The color of the aura wasn't right. Whatever magic Kendrian used, it was neither divine, nor arcane. At least, not of the same type of arcane magic that mages usually used. It was of a type that he had never seen before. To Palin, that meant only one thing and that was trouble.

He gently caressed his staff, praying silently to Paladine that he was wrong.

* * *

The second half of the day's travels went much smoother than the first half had gone. For one thing, when Kendrian had stopped riding with Palin, she found if much easier to relax and at times she was almost able to forget that she was traveling with a mage.

Palin, for his part, also found it much easier to breath knowing that Kendrian was not anywhere near his staff or spell components. Plus it was a hell of a lot easier to watch someone from afar than it was to watch them as they sat right in front of you.

Sturm had also been partly responsible for the lifted mood as well. He had been the one that had finally managed to break the tension with some well-placed, and rather raunchy humor. Palin, found himself blushing deep-red at first, while Kendrian had to be held even tighter to prevent her from falling off Sturm's horse. Though after a while, and a spot-on imitation of Tanin in one of his more "overly-brotherly" moments, even Palin lightened up and allowed himself to enjoy his brother's well-meaning efforts.

Tanin became quite frustrated when he returned to the group and found that them all laughing riotously with no explanation of what was so damn funny. When he tried to order Sturm and Palin to tell him what was going on, the trio only laughed harder.

Finally, the oldest of the Majere brothers turned his horse and rode further up ahead once more. This time in a very ill-disguised huff.

The four traveled for several more hours this way before switching Kendrian over to Tanin's horse, so that they could finish out the days travel. Once that was done, Sturm took up point, riding back and forth with news on whether the way ahead was clear, though not before protesting that they had no need to scout, as he reiterated that the knights had cleared these roads already. Tanin barked back, in a loud, clear voice, that he had no intention of being caught off guard by anything, end of discussion.

Sturm gave a secret grin and slight wink to Kendrian and a knowing nod to Palin, almost causing another burst of laughter from the two, before he headed out. They choked it back without Tanin any the wiser.

Now that Sturm was no longer there to make her laugh, Kendrian had a chance to focus her attention elsewhere. Much to her dismay, that elsewhere was her bottom. It had grown exceedingly sore over the course of the day and no matter how much she tried, she could get herself into a more comfortable position.

She tried readjusting herself one more time, worried that Tanin was about to yell at her to settle down, only to find that in doing so, she no longer seemed to be sitting on the horse. She cried out as she felt herself fall.

"Are you okay?" Tanin asked, catching Kendrian before she could fully fall off the horse.

"I … I'm fine," she replied in a shaky voice. "I guess I'm still not used to horses is all."

"Not used to horses? What do you mean?"

"Well, I've never actually ridden a horse before today," the young woman admitted nervously. "I never learned how."

"That's why you weren't traveling with one," Tanin sighed, more to himself than to her. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't think that merely riding on one was going to be so difficult if someone else was doing the actually handling." Now that she said it out loud, Kendrian thought it sounded quite stupid. Of course riding was apt to be hard on a person. Why else would riders do everything humanly possible to make the ride softer?

"Well then," he remarked gently as he took her hands in his. "We should correct that, shouldn't we?" He placed the reigns of his horse in her hands.

"What are you doing?" Kendrian said in a panicked voice.

"No one should go through life without knowing how to ride a horse," Tanin smiled.

"Don't worry," Palin commented as he nudged his own horse up to the pair. "Tanin is an expert horseman as well as an expert swordsman. You're in good hands." Kendrian's eyes caught Palin's. He hadn't said it in a supportive manner, but as a matter of fact. Coming from anyone else, it would have soothed her nerves. Coming from Palin, it didn't help.

"All right," Kendrian breathed, trying to calm herself down. She reminded herself that as long as Tanin did not let go of the reigns, she'd be fine. "What do I do?"

"Grasp the reigns," Tanin told her. "Not like that. Like this." He readjusted her grip.

"Perfect." She couldn't see his face, but something in Tanin's body language informed Kendrian that he was smiling. "Now tighten the reigns up a bit. Not too much. There. Gently nudge the horse with your heels. Whoa!" Tanin called out to the horse, who had started bucking the moment Kendrian had hit the horse with her heels.

"Sorry," she murmured, once the horse was calmed down.

"That's okay," Tanin laughed. "Try it again, but this time, try squeezing your legs gently against the horse's flank instead of kicking her."

Kendrian nodded, doing as she was told. The horse slowly walked forward.

"Good," Tanin nodded.

He spent the next hour of the trip teaching Kendrian the bare basics of riding, all the while make sure that his steed remained under his control. After a while of holding onto the reigns with Tanin, Kendrian's arms became as sore as her bottom. At that point, Tanin took full reign and let her rest.

She slumped forward a bit, trying not to nod off.

"Are you tired?" asked Tanin.

"Yes," Kendrian replied. "I just never knew riding a horse could be so exhausting."

"Don't worry. As soon as Sturm checks back, we're find a place to camp for the night and take an early break."

True to his word, the next time Sturm made his way back Tanin informed his brothers that it was time to start keeping an eye out for a good spot to camp.

"Consider it done," Sturm replied, noting the tired look on Kendrian's face.

The small group made camp shortly after in a clear patch of woods not far off from the main road they had been following. Kendrian took stock of the surroundings as she unloaded her sack from Tanin's horse. Deciding that she felt relatively safe for the moment, she excused herself into the woods on the pretense of gathering wood for the fire and tending to nature's call. What she really wanted was some time to herself.

* * *

Sturm watched as Kendrian went into the woods. He looked up to see that Palin, too, was watching her. Only Palin's face was drawn. If Sturm had ever had the opportunity to meet their uncle, he would have been struck by the sudden resemblance between uncle and nephew. It would have worried him as well. As it was, he hadn't, so he wasn't. He simply assumed that Palin was thinking too hard on some heavy subject better left for another time.

He heaved a sigh and walked over to his younger brother.

"Starting to regret offering to escort her south?" he smirked.

"No," Palin shook his head and turned to his brother. "I just …" he paused, unable to find the words to finish his sentence.

"You're lusting after her," Sturm finished for him, a huge grin on his face. He wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulder. "It's all right. You can admit it."

_"It's not that!"_ Palin yelled. His face red with anger, he pushed Sturm off him. "Just because you like to chase after every woman that stands on two legs, doesn't mean the rest of us do!"

"If you say so, Little Brother," Sturm grinned. "But it really isn't all that bad. You should try it sometime. You're far too serious. Besides, seems to me that she's a pretty nice person."

"No thank you," Palin retorted bitterly. "I'd rather take my chances with a dragon."

"You're choice," Sturm shrugged walking away. He stopped briefly. "Seriously Palin, if you don't trust her, then why are you so intent to keep her around?"

Without waiting for an answer, he went to help Tanin set up camp. He barely heard Palin mutter under his breath, "I don't know." But Palin did not move from that spot for a long time.

* * *

When Kendrian returned to camp it was with an armload of wood. Enough, Tanin commented with a smile, for two fires. He hated to admit it, but he was feeling less put out now than when they had started out. Perhaps this babysitting trip wasn't going to be so bad after all. For one thing, Kendrian had a determination about her that most other people did not. True, she couldn't ride a horse, but she neither had she complained once during the entire day's ride. Most people who had never sat on a horse for eight hours straight would have been cursing up a storm by the fifth hour.

She also knew what type of wood to look for, how much to get and she had done it in a decently short period of time. All in all, she was an extremely well-seasoned traveler by the looks of it. He just could not fathom what about her had caught Palin's interest in the first place.

He knew from the looks his brother kept shooting her way, that Palin didn't trust her, but until Palin was willing to open up as to why, and as long as Tanin was going to kept his promise to Sturm and not pry into the matter further, he had no choice but to assume that the reason's were there. In the meantime, it didn't mean that he couldn't try to enjoy the trip a bit.

After everyone finished eating Kendrian, Palin and Tanin all settled in to get some sleep. It had been determined that Sturm would take the first watch and Tanin the second. Kendrian had offered herself to a watch, but the two brothers had insisted that it wasn't necessary. Night fell on the small camp where only one person was able to fall asleep with little problem.

* * *

Kendrian awoke a little over halfway through the night. She had not slept easily, waking multiple times. Every time she rolled over to fall back asleep. Admittedly, what little sleep she was getting was enough to make her feel rested in between. Finally, she gave up on sleep altogether. Too much was weighing on her mind. She sat up and saw Tanin seated on the ground, tending the fire.

"You're awake," he smiled.

"I've been lying awake on and off all night," she yawned. "Thought I'd finally give sitting awake a try."

Tanin laughed. "Why don't you sit by the fire. Maybe it will warm you enough to help you get back to sleep."

Kendrian nodded and scooted next to Tanin. Picking up a stick that lay in the pile near them, she began absentmindedly poking at the fire.

"So do you want to talk about it?" Tanin asked.

"About what?"

"Whatever it is that's keeping you awake," Tanin answered.

"I'm worried about my brother." What had made her say that, she wondered.

"You have a brother?" Tanin gazed at her. "Is that the family you're going to see?"

Kendrian pulled her knees up to under her chin and nodded. Her gaze never leaving the flames in front of her.

"Why are you worried about him?"

"He's not well," she said. "I'm the only family he has left."

Kendrian had not talked about her brother for a long time to anyone. It hurt too much to think about. And yet here she was talking about him to what amounted as a total stranger.

There was just something about Tanin that she couldn't quite put her finger on. He was likeable. Not in the same, foolish way that Sturm was likeable. He was likeable in a more down-to-earth way. She had seen the same fierce protectiveness in his eyes when gazing at Palin that Kendrian felt toward her own brother. No one who loved their brothers as much as he did, could be that bad.

"What's wrong with him," Tanin pushed.

"I don't know," she lied.

"Have you taken him to a cleric?"

"Yes," she replied in a quiet voice. "It didn't work."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Tanin watched her for a few moments. She wasn't crying like one might expect, though he could tell that whatever she was thinking and feeling was hurting her beyond compare. Her eyes were filled with pain. He was about to say something else, but she spoke first.

"You love your brothers a lot, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," he nodded.

"You'd do anything to protect them?"

"Yes. Without a doubt."

"Good," she said in satisfaction.

"And you'd do the same thing for yours, I'm sure."

"Yes," she answered with more determination than she felt at the moment. "I would."

"Well, if you'd like, I'll help you then."

Kendrian looked up at Tanin in surprise. That was the last thing she expected.

"What?" she asked incredulously.

"I'll help you," Tanin reiterated, putting a hand on her shoulder, but looking at Palin. "I know what it's like to worry over a brother and to want to protect them no end. I also know that it would kill me to lose them. I don't think anyone should have to go through that."

He glanced back at Kendrian. "If there is anything that I can do to help, then I swear that as long as I am able, I will do it. You have my oath."

Kendrian just continued to stare at him, her heart filling briefly with hope. "Thank Y…" The world turned to ice around her. She choked on the cold enveloping her, the blood draining from her face. She felt it coming long before she heard it.

In the dead of night, someone screamed.

* * *

Palin opened his eyes and found himself standing in what appeared to be a Valley of some sort. A quite sense of familiarity came over him as he looked around. A slight breeze blew over sloping green hills. There was no sun in the sky, yet it was as bright as day out. White clouds speckled the rich blue sky. Palin gripped his staff tightly in his hand and began walking. He didn't know exactly where he was walking, only that he was walking toward something or someone.

Over one hill and then the next he walked, feeling that with each step he was getting closer to his destination. Finally, he saw it. A tree, standing by all alone atop a hill. A figure sat underneath, quietly reading. Every so often the figure would stop reading as it doubled over, body racked with pain, in a coughing fit.

As Palin approached, he saw the light glint off the figure's golden skin, confirming the identity of the figure beneath the tree. Raistlin.

"Uncle," Palin called out. He wanted to rush forward, but somehow knew that his uncle would disapprove. After all, a mage was supposed to maintain a certain air about them at all times. It wouldn't do if he began acting like a child.

Raistlin looked up at Palin, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Nephew." He closed his book, which Palin could now see was one of the night-blue spell books that still sat in his uncle's laboratory in the Tower at Palanthas. Raistlin slowed used his own staff, a mirror of the one Palin held, to raise himself up. A coughing fit over took the mage and Palin rushed to his uncle's side instinctively. Unlike with Caramon, Raistlin did not try to push Palin away. Instead he leaned on his nephew for support.

"You've changed your mind I see," Raistlin whispered in a horse voice as soon as the fit was finished.

"What are you talking about Uncle?" Palin asked, confused.

"I'm coming home, Nephew. With you're help, I'm coming home. And when I do, I will rule the world under my Queen's guidance," he chuckled.

Palin watched in horror as Raistlin melted away into nothingness before the young mage's very eyes, his bitter laugh still lingering on the wind.

"Uncle?" Palin called.

"Uncle!"

Palin shot up, wide awake. He found himself looking straight into his oldest brother's worried face. Palin's arm was stretched out, grasping Tanin's shoulder while Tanin had a firm grip on both of Palin's shoulders.

"Palin," Tanin cried urgently. "Palin, are you all right?"

Palin let go of his brother, trying to catch his breath and fight back the sudden, sickening feeling of icy terror that he had been filled with. His body shook in the chill air night. Try as he might, he couldn't breathe. The dream stayed vividly with him as he stared past his brother's shoulder to see Kendrian standing there, her hands clasped to the medallion at her chest. She stared, wide-eyed in horror, straight at the young mage.


End file.
